Contents of this Issue

Navigation

Page 67 of 75

6 6 • r e s t a u r a n t d e v e l o p m e n t + d e s i g n • M A Y / J U N E 2 0 1 7
Form + Function
for LEDs, is your restaurant going to
be around long enough to reap the
benefit?" he asks, noting that some new
establishments may not last more than
six months.
Aesthetic Advantages
Jamison is not anti-LED, as Coje's
restaurants all use LEDs for specific
purposes — mostly for accent lighting
to highlight artwork or design features.
"LEDs can go places that incandes-
cents, including halogens, can't go,"
Jamison says. LEDs can be deployed in
a long, thin form resembling Christmas
lights or other smaller-fixture arrays that
take up little space, give off little heat
yet still provide appropriately bright
light. "You can easily wire them under a
shelf so that the fixtures are not visible,"
Jamison says. This has allowed for spe-
cial effects such as lighting shelves of
glasses so that they appear to be shim-
mering jewels, highlighting the spines
of old books in bookcases and accenting
paintings — all features within Coje's
downtown Boston hot spot Yvonne's.
Within New York's trendy Vandal
eatery in the Bowery, an 11-foot upside-
down sculptured purple bunny is spot-
lighted by LEDs at the end of a long,
vaulted brick tunnel in the entryway. The
Alice-in-Wonderland-themed vignette in-
cludes black-and-white diagonal stripes
on the floor and wall behind the sculp-
ture. The installation stamps an unfor-
gettable image on the minds of patrons.
This piece and other artwork curated by
a renowned street artist
get bright and precise
direct lighting from LED
fixtures. Such applica-
tions are where LEDs are
especially well suited.
Another trait,
programmability for
color and brightness,
makes LEDs particularly
desirable for certain pur-
poses, Neal says. Some
restaurants use LEDs for
special effects, such as
creating a green hue on
a wall or in the back of a
bar on St. Patrick's Day.
Lighting control systems
make it easy to prepro-
gram the brightness of
LED lighting so that
brightness levels adjust
automatically during dif-
ferent dayparts.
In an open kitchen,
LEDs offer bright,
focused task lighting,
Neal adds. This lighting
strategy provides chefs and staff with
the amount of light they need within
acceptable energy usage limitations
and without overwhelming the dining
area closest to the kitchen with ambi-
ent light. By contrast, other options for
kitchens, such as fluorescent troffer
ceiling lights, would emit too much in-
direct bright light and disrupt a muted,
warmly lit dining atmosphere. Anderson
says that fluorescent lighting works fine
in the back of the house — as long as
it isn't visible to customers — but if
budget allows, his firm uses LEDs for
those areas.
The Future
All in all, designers are thrilled to have
LEDs in their arsenal. "It's a pretty
exciting time because we're getting a
lot of new tools from new technological
developments," Neal says.
"I can do things with LEDs today
that weren't possible three to five years
ago," Anderson adds. "LEDs are key in
our ability to design lighting that is rich
and full of many layers — making both
architecture and people look great." His
firm is constantly working to keep up
with new LED products. "We're testing
all the time," he says. "Sometimes new
is better; sometimes it isn't." The explo-
sion of options makes it more important
than ever for lighting designers and in-
terior designers to work closely together,
he explains. After all, the true impact of
lighting can only be appreciated after a
space is fully finished and furnished.
As LED technology continues to
advance, the remaining holdouts are
likely to drop any lingering resistance.
Jamison, for example, is optimistic
about the technology and believes
manufacturers will solve any remaining
aesthetic performance problems at a
reasonable cost. "I'm sure they'll get
there," he notes. +
M
C
L
MARIO
CONTRACT LIGHTING
w w w. m a r i o c o n t r a c t l i g h t i n g . c o m
sales@mariocontractlighting.com
800.458.1244